Battle ropes are a relatively new training accessory to the world of fitness. It is a long workout rope that comes in different sizes and weights, and they help bring diversity to your workouts.
Using these big ropes allows you to do a multitude of exercises to increase strength, power and resistance. The sheer versatility and multi-muscle targeting make it worth considering.
It is increasingly common to see it in functional training and cross-fit sessions due to its proven effectiveness in burning calories and fat without losing muscle mass. This type of rope workout is always an intense, dynamic and fun workout, which can adapt to your physical level.
What Is A Battle Rope?
This rope, similar to the one used in mooring boats, can have different measures and weights. Most of the time in the gym they are about 15 meters in length and exercising with them means moving 10 – 12 kilos of load.
There are whole workouts just with battle ropes. Or, if you prefer, you could also do them outside of the gym.
Or, try a cross-fit session or a global workout in which you want to incorporate a high-intensity interval based on rope work.
How Do You Use It?
You should start by holding the workout ropes at both ends in the correct way.
Once you have this grip and stance in place, the next step is learning to perform the two basic movements. This will allow you to do many other exercises such as:
Waves: Moving the ropes, keeping the elbows flexed without stressing the joints, is the first exercise you must master.
It is simply a matter of forming those waves with the rope by raising and lowering your arms.
This can be both at the same time or alternately, while your biceps, triceps and the muscles of your shoulders and forearms work with high intensity.
Slams: This second basic exercise consists of hitting the ground with the battle rope. First raising the arms and dropping them with force. This is especially important for working on those movements that will help you to build explosive power, as well as help you burn calories.
Once both types of movements are controlled, the possibilities offered by rope training are extensive. Nor are they limited to exercising the muscles of the upper body.
You will find people often doing a 10-minute battle rope workout, but you will see great results also if you go for a little longer. In the 20-30 minutes that the session can last, it is easy to put other muscle groups such as the core, the legs and the glutes to work. This is simply by moving the ropes while doing squats, lateral movements, jumps, or for example, strides.
Answering the Questions: What Are Battle Ropes Good For?
So, whether your goal is to lose weight or maintain excellent physical shape by improving strength and endurance, battle ropes are a great addition to your fitness plan. That’s why we’ve answered some questions so you can discover the benefits for yourself.
Do Battle Ropes Burn Belly Fat?
While the ropes are not specifically targeted at belly fat, it is an upper-body workout that has gained a reputation for reducing body fat.
And you know why?
Because it’s a great cardio exercise that has an impact on all that extra fat in the upper parts of your body.
Used in short sessions its results are noticeable within a few weeks. So it’s excellent for losing weight and toning muscles. That’s why it is among the best cardio for weight loss options you can use.
Can Using The Ropes Help Your Physique?
The low-impact nature of the battle ropes workout is that it will help you define and shape your body.
Using a combination of endurance, power, speed and strength you are engaging your muscles and aerobic capacity in a great way. It will help you become more muscular while still being lean and your muscles being more defined.
Are Battle Ropes An Effective Workout On Their Own?
The battle ropes can form a complete workout on their own, combining aerobic work with strength work.
They allow you to work with a considerable weight but without your joints suffering since you do not “load” it directly on them. So, the risk of injury is practically nil.
Additionally, rope training is excellent if you are trying to increase cardiovascular and respiratory capacity. This is why it is utilised in a lot of CrossFit exercises.
This workout helps improve balance and coordination of movements, which is ideal for strengthening the core.
How To Get Started
You can start in the gym or you can get some ropes for yourself and head outdoors. The great thing is, you only need the ropes and a point to tie it to. In the gym, you can join a cross-fit class and see if they include the ropes. That would be a great way to be introduced to it with some guidance.
Using the workouts we showed you above, it’s easy to just get started. You’ll soon develop a feel for it and be able to extend the time you spend on it, and combine it with other exercises and workouts too.
There are many athletes from very diverse disciplines who practice it, from runners to swimmers or climbers because it is a way of doing a hard exercise most enjoyably. Give it a try, you’re going to love the results.
